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What is Monoclonal Antibody Therapy for Cancer?

Monoclonal antibody therapy is a kind of immunotherapy that empowers the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells.

Our body produces billions of different kinds of antibodies, which are part of the immune system. They have specific archnemeses in the immune system that they target, such as pathogens like diseased cells or viruses. Monoclonal antibodies used in cancer treatment are designed in a lab to target certain antigens — foreign substances in the body — or overexpressed receptors — a structure that selectively receives and binds a specific substance — that live on the surface of cancer cells. By targeting those antigens, the antibodies are able to latch onto the cancer cells and act as a “call to arms” for other disease-fighting warriors in the immune system.

More than a dozen monoclonal antibodies have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to fight different types of cancer, including breast, head and neck, lung, liver, bladder, and melanoma skin cancers, as well as Hodgkin lymphoma. First tried in advanced melanoma, monoclonal antibodies have extended some patients’ survival as much as 10 years.

Drug Combination Reduces Number of Colorectal Polyps in Patients with Hereditary Cancer Syndrome

In a new analysis of a prevention clinical trial, a two-drug combinationsubstantially decreased the number of precancerous colorectal polyps in people with a very high hereditary risk of developing colorectal cancer.
In the trial, people with this hereditary condition—called familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP)—who were randomly assigned to receive the combination of erlotinib (Tacerva) and sulindac (aflodac) had less than a third the number of polyps after 6 months of treatment than patients who received placebos. The new analysis was published February 8 in JAMA Oncology......https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2018/fap-erlotinib-sulindac-colorectal-polyps

Check out some facts about HIV infection.

Rememeber that the HIV is associated with some types of cancers like sarcoma of kaposi, agressive lymphomas and cervical cancer

Treasure trove of 110 genes linked to breast cancer discovered

Scientists have linked 110 genes to an increased risk of breast cancer in the most comprehensive study ever to unpick the genetics of the disease. Their study used a pioneering genetic technique to analyse maps of DNA regions linked to an inherited risk of breast cancer and identify the actual genes involved in raising a woman’s risk.

Researchers also linked 32 of the new genes to the length of time women survived breast cancer – suggesting these could be important in the development of the disease and potential targets for future treatments. Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, looked in detail at 63 areas of the genome that had previously been associated with the risk of breast cancer by mapping studies. They were able to identify 110 new genes that could potentially be causing an increased risk of breast cancer across 33 of the regions they studied. In the remaining 30 areas, they were unable to find any specific genes. One third of the target genes for which they had patient data – 32 out of 97 – were also linked to survival in women with oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, suggesting they play an important role in the disease.

In the future, testing for these genes could help pick out women who are most at risk of developing the disease – or they could be explored as targets for new drugs.

“Identifying these new genes will help us to understand in much greater detail the genetics of breast cancer risk. Ultimately, our study could pave the way for new genetic tests to predict a woman’s risk, or new types of targeted treatment.”

https://www.icr.ac.uk/news-archive/scientists-find-treasure-trove-of-110-genes-linked-to-breast-cancer

Alcohol and risk to develop a cancer!

Research indicates that the more alcohol a person drinks—particularly the more alcohol a person drinks regularly over time—the higher his or her risk of developing an alcohol-associated cancer such mouth & upper throat, larynx, oesophagus, breast, liver and bowel.

How Does Drinking Alcohol Increase Cancer Risk?

Alcohol is believed to increase the risk of getting cancer in multiple ways:

• By breaking down (known as “metabolizing”) ethanol in alcoholic drinks to acetaldehyde, which is a toxic chemical and a probable human carcinogen that can damage both cellular DNA and proteins.
• By generating reactive oxygen species (ROS − chemically reactive toxic molecules that contain oxygen), which damage DNA, proteins, and fats in the body via a chemical reaction known as oxidation.
• By impairing the body’s ability to absorb and use various nutrients associated with cancer risk – such as vitamins A, the B complex vitamins such as folate, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, and carotenoids.
• By raising estrogen levels, a sex hormone linked to higher breast cancer risk.

Check out your BMI with this online calculator

http://www.medcalc.com/body.html

There is consistent evidence that higher amounts of body fat are associated with increased risks of a number of cancers.

Learn more about obesity and cancer risk: https://go.usa.gov/xnuWq